Consumerist
-
Wasted effort
Try To Get DSL From AT&T, They Dare You
The person who blogs at MichiganTelephone just tried to help his friend sign up for DSL from AT&T last week. Their experience was so full of fail that now his friend doesn't even want to bother trying anymore. Yes, a customer came to AT&T ready to sign up, and AT&T drove him away. Michigan telephone wonders, "Does AT&T have a death wish, or are they really just that incompetent?" More » -
fee frenzy
Rental Car Company Charges More In Taxes And Fees Than For Rental, Cites "Computer Error"
Dick thought he was getting a fair deal by renting a car from Dollar for $28 a day. He was shocked to see that his bill had been jacked by nearly $130 in taxes and fees when he returned the car. More » -
bait and switch
NY Attorney General Fines, Closes Down Infamously Scammy Camera Stores
If you bought cameras or electronics from any of these stores recently you were probably scammed: Best Price Camera, Foto Connection, 1 Way Photo, 86th Street Photo, Broadway Photo, Camera Whiz, and Sonic Photo. Or perhaps you bought something online from one of their astonishing array of alter egos and websites (see full list). More » -
advice
Reminder: Make Sure Medical Procedures Are Covered Before You OK Them
Nick suffers from back pain and thought he'd seek chiropractor care for some pain relief. What he got in return was the sting of a nasty hospital bill because his insurance wouldn't pay for his x-rays, even though the nurse and doctor assured him the scans would be covered. More » -
mattresses
Simmons Fluffs Hotel Mattress Price By $500
UPDATE: Simmons contacted Charles today, and the situation has been settled. As some commenters here guessed, the confusion came from the sales rep misreading the number 3 for an 8 on the computer screen. Everyone can rest easy tonight, even if it's not on a fluffy mattress. More » -
jiffy lube
Jiffy Lube Tries To Scam Yet Another Customer
Seriously, Jiffy Lube? You haven't received enough bad coverage about ripping off your customers? Fine, here's another one: Daniel says they tried to add about $170 in extra "needed" repairs and replacements recently when his girlfriend dropped off her car to get the oil changed. Even after she turned them down, they still slapped an extra $6 "Peak Global Life Time 100%" charge on the bill. We don't know what that means, but those are all good words, and anything that's 100 percent has got to be quality. Apparently Jiffy Lube doesn't know what it means either. More » -
florists
This Florist Has A Loose Grasp Of Geometry, Flower Arranging
Erik ordered an unusual flower arrangement for his wife earlier this week. The clear vase had four sides and flared slightly, and the bottom quarter was filled with rocks, with water rising a few inches above them; 12 long-stemmed orange roses stood up straight from the rocks—the stems perpendicular to the water—and formed a flat, solid bed of rose blooms at exactly the height of the vase's mouth. If that's hard to picture, remember the florist had an image to work with. Then take a look at what Erik's wife actually received. More » -
dining alone
Amazon 12 Plate Set Looks A Lot Like 1 Plate
Here's an update from Bealls Florida.
On Monday, one of our readers clicked through a Morning Deal and purchased a set of 12 plates via Amazon. The deal clearly said it was a box of 12 plates, as does Amazon's listing. Pezstar received his order today, however, and it was just a single plate. Judging by the comments on the Amazon page, he wasn't the only one ripped off. More »
-
-
ripoffs
Obama Collector's Coins Turn Out To Be Stickers Stuck On Regular Coins
You may have seen the commercial where Montel Williams hawks some goofy collectible coins with President Obama's face IN FULL COLOR OMG. If you were planning on ordering some, though, watch this video from KATU 2 TV in Portland, Oregon first.* A father and daughter bought the coins and discovered that they're just regular money with color stickers applied. One of the news anchors even comments that she could see the face on the coin through the sticker when she looked at it from the side. More » -
WISdomestics
WISdomestics Blames Competitors For Its Own Misleading Vibrator Copy
Jen ordered a product on Amazon, but what arrived in the shipment was significantly less than what was promised. More » -
upselling
Best Buy Really Does Not Want To Let You Buy The Advertised Special
Reader John writes in with a story about "upselling" at Best Buy. He saw a TomTom GPS unit for $99.99 on sale at Best Buy, so he headed over to the store to pick one up. What follows is his account of how much trouble it was to actually buy the item. We think we counted 9 times that John had to tell various and sundry Best Buy employees that, yes, he was sure that he didn't want to buy a slightly more expensive model of the same device. More » -
Over on Elliott.org, a woman describes how her $29 Days Inn room ballooned to a $180 charge when the hotel's owner refused to honor the deal, and what she did to get the difference refunded. [Elliott.org]
MORE » -
NWV Direct
NWV Direct Caught Pulling Bait And Switch, Tries To Backpedal
Joshua caught New World Video Direct trying to pull a bait and switch on him with a recent order, so he canceled it and gave them a bad review on resellerratings.com. They contacted him to ask if he'd remove the rating. Joshua wrote back to decline, but he reminded them that it's actually pretty simple to develop a decent reputation as retailer: "If you want to have anyone trust you as a business you have to only list items you plan to sell for the price you plan to sell them at." More » -
bally
Bally Total Fitness Scams College Student By Swapping Contracts
Chanda signed up for a month-to-month membership at a Bally Total Fitness in Montclair, California, but when things went wrong—as they frequently do with this company—Chanda found himself signed up for a 3-year agreement. Their proof? An unsigned contract that doesn't look like the one he was given. More » -
verizon
Verizon: 'You've Earned A New Phone' (Just Not From Us)
Is this Verizon promotional email being over-enthusiastic with its subject line, or is it actually misleading? A phrase like "you've earned a new ___" doesn't usually get followed up with, "Just pay us anywhere between $100-$200 for it," unless it comes from a scam vacation offer. Or Verizon. As Bryan notes in his email to us, "The subject line must mean something like when you tell Verizon, 'You've earned my suspicion and contempt.'" More » -
charter cable
You Won A 65-inch TV From Charter Cable! Here Is Your 19-inch TV!
The News Courier reports Charter Cable ran an online contest asking kids to submit stories about why their dad was the "World's Greatest Dad," and the winner was supposed to get a 65-inch TV...instead, a 19-inch one showed up on his doorstep. Is this any way to treat The World's Greatest Dad?
UPDATE: Charter has responded to this post and says they're working with the family to get them a better prize.
UPDATE: Charter Gives Family 2 TVs After Contest Snafu More »
-
Value City Furniture
This Furniture Store Uses Creative Math
Wow, look at this nice five-piece bedroom set. Only $599! Not bad, especially when the description says it's normally $1800. Five different pieces—that would fill a bedroom with a lot of cheap class! Now let's put the fine print filter on it:
Five-piece set includes headboard, footboard, wood rails/slats, dresser and mirror.
That's right, the bed is actually three pieces. That nightstand and other dresser must have wandered onto the set accidentally. More »
-
ticketsmyway
TicketsMyWay: Sell Tickets You Don't Have, Keep Money, Threaten Customers, Profit!
A reader sent in the following tip about a Vegas-based ticket broker:
There is a company by the name of Ticketsmyway.com (Event Tickets LLC) that has the scam of the century running. Their operations run like this.
More »- Advertise tickets slightly cheaper than Stubhub and other sites.
- Consumers place an order online for tickets often months in advance
- Credit cards are charged full amount immediately
- Customers are told to check status of order online
- Orders always show as "processing"
- As date of event gets closer, customer starts calling to find out Status of shipping
- 1-2 days before event, customer are told tickets are "no longer available"
- Phone rep says a refund can only be requested online
- Terms of Use online say any refund request is considered a "cancellation" and customer is charged 45% of the purchase price
Even though company cannot produce tickets, customers lose 45% of their entire purchase price.
bait and switch
New York, 7:34 AM
Wed Nov 11
22 posts in the last 24 hours
Tip Your Editors:
tips@consumerist.com
tipline: 347-42C-ON95
Co-Managing Editor:
Ben Popken
Email | AIM | Twitter
Co-Managing Editor:
Meghann Marco
Email | Twitter
Senior Editor:
Chris Walters
Email | Twitter
Weekend Editor:
Laura Northrup
Email | AIM | Twitter
Associate Editor:
Alex Chasick | Email
Associate Editor:
Phil Villarreal
Email
